Saddle bronc rider Kenney making a name for himself

Amarillo is a Mecca for talented rodeo riders. Jim Blain Kenney is an example.

Kenney and his wife Beth have made Amarillo their home and brought with them a long line of Western heritage.

Kenney was reared on a ranch in far West Texas where you learned to ride before you learned to walk. His talent for riding horses of any type or temperament led him into the sport of rodeo. He has become an outstanding saddle bronc rider.

High school rodeos propelled him into a college rodeo career, first at Western Texas College in Snyder, then to earn his bachelors degree in Animal Business at Texas Tech. He made the rough side of animals his business.

Kenney, with the support of his wife, is making his career as a professional saddle bronc rider in the PRCA - the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association. This is the same as a football player making his name in the NFL.

You must be the best among the best to be able to compete. Competition is not only fierce but high risk. One wrong move and your career can suddenly become a health problem.

Saddle bronc riding is the cornerstone of the rodeo concept. After all, the first event was one man trying to master one wild, bucking horse. Although the sport has become more technical and somewhat refined, it is still man against beast which leads to the excitement built into rodeo.

"The idea that America is in love with Western romanticism is what keeps the spirit of the American cowboy alive," Kenney said.

In this day it is becoming difficult to find outstanding bucking horses due to the fact that bucking or `high spiritedness' in a horse is one of the first traits that genetic engineering tends to diminish. This creates a lack of bucking horses for upcoming riders to learn and practice on.

"Not everyone can rodeo and ride a wild, bucking horse, like learning to play basketball or baseball at a young age," Kenney said.

The risk involved in rodeo makes it difficult to actually become a bronc rider. Many sports, even team roping, can be learned and a skill developed through repetition, but bronc riding is a new event each time the bucking chute gate opens.

Promotion of the sport of rodeo and bronc riding begins at a young age. Those willing to take their time and dedicate their effort to learning to ride any horse, then taking every opportunity to ride in structured events from junior rodeos on up to the PRCA is the goal that must be set for a young rider to excel into greatness as a bronc rider.

You will frequently see the familiar name of Jim Blain Kenney in the winner's column for professional saddle bronc riding. True grit still lives and fills the boots of a champion saddle bronc rider on the golden plains of Amarillo. Paula Pitt of Tulia writes a twice monthly column on rodeo for these pages.